I had a few reservations in reading the title and the back cover at first. Even if this was printed in the 1980s, the inappropriately-termed "Indian Givers" for the Native Americans of today's North America and the indigenous groups of present-day South America is a pervading sentiment in the West. Although, 30 years on and there are improvements as far as the term goes. But that mild uncertainty was slowly replaced by approval as the author unfolded all of these stories.

I particularly liked how the anthropologist talked of the longest highway in the Western hemisphere, made by the Incas, to how they cultivated corn which was then "copied" in the form of today's cereals, to their culinary influences through the trove of spices, and even in architecture, where the remains of their great cities have become the foundation of modern-day urban centers.

did not finish, it was quite editorial, which I thought took away from the book. Discovered a copy at the cabin, so I can go back to it some time when I'm up there if I want to. I loved Genghis Kahn by the same author but this one, no.

One of the best books I've ever read. I learned so much about the American Indian culture and how much our lives have been changed and enhanced by it. More than I ever expected.

This was an interesting book, not super-engaging, but presents some intriguing facts/theories about Native populations.

Growing up in "Iroquoi lands" of upstate NY, I was always intrigued with the names of local towns and lakes, and obviously learned their origins were Native American. Weatherford's book overwhelmingly opened my eyes to ALL the contributions Native Americans have added to a better life for not only Americans but for the whole world in foods, medicines, industry and government structure. We need to recognize and honor their contributions more! And there is still much more to learn from all North and South America indigenous peoples that we need to share, research and discover before it too is lost. Great reading.

I was completely unaware that so many prominent European thinkers and writers (including Karl Marx) were so profoundly influenced by the American Indian form of government and political practices, especially those of the League of the Iroquois. The example of American Indian governance was a true catalyst that helped America's Founding Fathers think outside the box, beyond the Old World monarchies and limited attempts and outlines of democracy by the Greeks. The League of the Iroquois provided a living, well-functioning example of a true democracy in action that our founders were able to study through personal interaction and immersion over several decades leading up to our independence.

The most recent book I read was a short one but it offered a new perspective which I just noticed seemed to be what I look for in a book. A major idea that attracted me right off the bat in this book was when Jack Weatherford stated "At the time of the discovery of America, Europe has only about $200 million worth of gold and silver, approximately $2 per person. By 1600 the supply of precious metals had increased approximately eightfold. The Mexican mint alone coined $2 billion worth of silver pieces..." This made me keep reading because as many times in my many history classes the idea that the coinage of currency would have been all for nothing without the discovery of the new world. A revolutionary idea if you ask me. Later in the book he also concludes that "Most democratic and egalitarian reforms of the past two hundred years in America originated on the frontier and not in the settled cities of the east. The frontier states dropped property and religous requirements for voters. They extended the franchise to women, and in 1916 Montana elected Jeanette Rankin as the first woman in Congress four years before the Ninteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote" We didn't even cover that in my Advanced Placement US History class. The impact that Indians and Native Americans had on modern society that has been unseen for so long amazed me. This is however a very tough read though it is short. It takes a minute to get into but after the first 20 pages or so it becomes more natural and less contrived to follow the text. Overall I feel great about this book even though it made me feel stupid. This is a college level book for college level scholars. It's a great read nevertheless.

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Should be assigned reading, along wth Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States", in every U.S. history course.

I read this book years ago, so only remember it generally. I enjoyed the writing style, as well as the history of contributions by Indians (Native Americans) to the rest of the world. It is a book that gets outside of the stereotypes.

Ran across this at the thriftshop and was halfway through it before I realized it was the same author who wrote Mongol Queens. This was quite a bit older, but I really enjoyed it. I will keep my eyes out for more Jack Weatherford books.

Time and time again, while reading this book, I read the title of the chapter, thought "Well, this is going to be a stretch", but then was pretty much convinced by the end of the chapter.

Some of the points ended up being a stretch (The Pilgrims didn't go from Leiden to the New World purely for profit, but also because of changes in the Netherlands, the "younger generations" becoming too Dutch, being more rural and not as used to city life, etc. But sure, profit was one of the points). I also found the connection to the industrial revolution, etc. a bit indirect.

Some others I knew in theory, but hadn't wrapped my mind around how pervasive the native american influence actually was, such as with food. From Russian/Irish potatoes, to Italian tomatoes and zucchini, to cashews, peanuts, corn worldwide, etc. etc., these (and a lot more) all came from the Americas.
By the way, he asserts that the Sichuan peppercorn originated with peppers in the Americas, but that sounds very odd to me.


And some others actually surprised me. I was sure the chapter on Native American influence on liberty, democracy, and the American constitution would be a complete stretch, but the chapters made a lot of sense. The Iroquois had a league, based on majority votes and caucuses (a Native American word), which Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, among others, quoted directly when writing about the American government structure. Everyone mentions Greek democracy, but odd that it didn't influence the world for 2,000 years until people went to the Americas. In fact, even the fact that the Iroquois league could vote new member states in was the only prior example of something similar for admitting new states into the union (rather than colonizing them and absorbing them that way).

Extra plus, I found out this is a signed copy! I had no clue (I ordered it used from Abebooks)!